This is a great opportunity for all of us to grow in knowledge, learning new things, especially from this side of Europe’s borders.

Belgrade, 22 March 2018 – For two and a half days this week, directors from 19 JRS national offices in Europe came together with the JRS Europe team for a Regional Coordination Meeting (RCM) in Belgrade, Serbia. This bi-annual meeting is a key occasion for JRS in Europe to build our common projects and work to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees in the region.

“In the first session of this meeting we gathered all the new initiatives that have been launched over the past year by JRS national teams in Europe, the energy and creativity of these teams is amazing. And more surprisingly, all this capacity for innovation, happens in a context of reduced financial resources. I believe that all this creativity, at the service of people seeking protection in Europe, is a sign of hope,” said JRS Europe director Jose Ignacio Garcia SJ.

The programme for the meeting included key updates from each country, advocacy sessions around the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and private sponsorship, and programme sessions about the projects I Get You and Protection at External Borders.

In the afternoon of March 21, JRS national Directors were invited by the Archbishop of Belgrade to have an encounter and share about the situation of refugees in Europe.

Head of JRS Serbia, Adrian Nikacevic, said “I would like to thank all my fellow JRS colleagues for coming to Belgrade for these valuable meetings. This is a great opportunity for all of us to grow in knowledge, learning new things, especially from this side of Europe’s borders. I hope that together we’ll learn about new refugee perspectives, and ways to increase the quality of our service and accompaniment.”

The RCM is immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting which brings together over 50 JRS staff members from around Europe. More news to follow.